


Headstrong

by retrinazambrano



Series: Future, Present, Past [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Outlaw Queen Angst Fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2020-04-06 13:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19063513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retrinazambrano/pseuds/retrinazambrano
Summary: Oh Christ, Henry's too young for such recreational activities.





	Headstrong

**Author's Note:**

> For OQ Angst Fest.
> 
> 14\. Did you think I wouldn't find out?  
> 38\. Are we good parents?  
> 39\. Where the hell were you?

"Henry, can you get me your bag, please?" Robin shouts from the bottom of the stairs at his sixteen-year-old son who casually shouts back that his bag is by the door. Muttering that he's not his butler, Robin picks up the offending item and opens the flap to get his lunchbox. His hand lands on a smaller box so he pulls it out, but once he has, he wishes he hadn't.

Condoms. His teenage son has condoms at the bottom of his bag. He stares at the box (but not before flipping it over to make sure they haven't passed their use by date) and knows what this means.

His son, his still-too-young child is quite possibly having sex.

The thought of it, although sex is very much a natural thing, makes bile rise to his throat. He wasn't even aware Henry was seeing anyone, much less being physical with them. Henry's voice comes from the top of the stairs and, in a panic, Robin shoves the box back into the bag, pulling out the lunchbox just as he appears.

"What are you doing?" Henry asks suspiciously and Robin holds up the box.

"Just getting this to clean. You doing your homework?"

"Doing it now. Can I have my bag please?"

Robin hands his bag over and forces a smile. "I'll call you when dinner's ready."

\------

Regina is going to absolutely flip out at Henry, he knows it for a fact. He'll talk to Henry, then go to Regina with it, he decides. That's the best way to do it.

\------

Except it doesn't quite work that way. Henry drops his bag on the way into the house, Regina picks it up and the contents tumble out… including the condoms. The shouting starts on the driveway, which Robin hears from inside and he flings open the front door and makes down the path with a what the hell is going on!?

Regina attempts to explain, as does Henry, but he won't have any of it, not until they're inside the house. He's grateful that Roland's at a play date with Belle and Gideon right now.

"Now will you explain to me what's going on?" Robin looks between the two, Regina's angry face, and their son's equally as angry face, laced with an edge of betrayal.

"Mom was going through my bag!" He whines, to which Regina vehemently shakes her head.

"Henry dropped his bag, I picked it up and these fell out!" She passes Robin the same box he discovered the day before and he hears a Mom! from Henry.

Robin stares at the box again before looking up at his son. "What's going on? Why do you have these?" He holds them up.

"Isn't it obvious?" Regina says, "he's having sex. He's underage and he's having sex!"

"What the hell?" More than anything, Henry's mortified, and he looks to his father for support.

"Is it true?" Robin asks in a calm, quiet voice and Henry's eyes widen.

He shrugs noncommittally. "That's none of your business."

"I think you'll find it is, Henry," Robin responds and Henry shakes his head.

"I can't believe you did this." He turns to Regina. "I'm never gonna forgive you." He grabs his bag - minus the condoms - and stomps off back down the path, out of the gate and out of sight. Regina goes to chase after him, but Robin stops him, knowing he's probably gone to his castle to calm down, so he guides her into the house.

"Regina, what the hell happened?" Robin throws the box onto the table and sits on the couch, waiting for answers.

"Just as I said," she responds, sitting beside him. "He dropped his bag."

"Could you have not mentioned the sex, though? That's a really private thing and you're his mother. I'm pretty sure that you're the last person he'd discuss that with."

"Exactly, I'm his mother!" She shrugs and Robin can't quite believe what he's hearing.

"You're his mother," he reiterates. "Henry acts like this but really he is still your son. He still needs nurturing and shouting at him over these," he holds the box up, "is not the best way to start."

Regina shakes her head. "But he shouldn't be having sex."

"No, and we don't have absolute proof he is. I mean, this is still sealed… but if he's thinking about it, at least he's thinking about being safe."

"You're right," she sighs. "I'll apologise when he comes home."

"I know you're worried, love," he pats her knee and gives it a little squeeze, "but the best thing right now is communication. Let me just make sure he's okay."

\------

Robin drops Henry a text, just to ensure that he's safe and he replies sometime later that he is, he just needs some time to cool down. He goes to tell Regina so, but Henry makes it through the door first.

"Where the hell were you?" Regina asks in no uncertain terms and Robin can visibly see the frustration on Henry's face begin to reappear.

"Regina..." she says warningly, but Henry looks to her.

"I told you where I was," he tells her and Robin holds his phone up.

"I've just received the message. Regina, come on," he attempts to soothe, and her shoulders sag.

"Go to your room," Regina eventually says, the energy she had to resolve this situation completely dissipated. Wordlessly, Henry climbs the stairs.

\------

Regina can't avoid the talk forever. An hour later, with Robin's persuasion, she stands outside Henry's door.

"Henry, can I come in?" Regina speaks through his very closed bedroom door.

"No."

"Please? I'm sorry I shouted at you. Both times." There's silence, then the door opens slightly. Regina pushes the door open to find her son sitting on his bed, surrounded by papers. She pushes the door closed and sits on his desk chair, waiting for him to say something, but he doesn't. Instead, he continues to scribble in his notebook.

"Henry."

He drops his pencil and looks up at him. God, he really does have his father's eyes. "Mother."

"I want to talk to you about the condoms."

He groans, feeling awkward at his mother even saying the word. "What about them?"

"I… look, I've been through this, I can answer…"

"My questions? No offence, Mom, but I don't think I'm gonna ask you… if I was going to ask anyone, it would be Dad."

"Can you just answer me? Are you having sex?"

Henry's mouth forms a straight line, feeling the blush creep up his neck before he shakes his head. Regina sighs with relief at that, but Henry is less than happy. "Even if I was… this is just really awkward, okay?"

"I know, and I'm sorry. Seeing you grow up before my eyes just feels so surreal."

"I know, sorry. I promise you though, I'm not having sex. I don't even have a girlfriend."

"What about Violet?" Regina asks and he notes how the teen looks down, the blush returning. She and Robin had met Violet and her parents at a school function and as the two seemed to get on well, Regina had wondered ever since.

"Violet's not my girlfriend," he reveals. "She's too good for me."

Regina won't stand for that sort of talk and, after clearing some of the pages on his bed, sits beside him on the mattress. "I won't hear you say that, okay? You have everything right there inside you. You're kind, clever, creative - what girl wouldn't want to be with you!" Regina's intensely proud of her son in all ways, and won't let him believe he's anything less than he is.

"I'm just… I don't know how to say to her that I like her!" Oh boy. Regina's not been a teen for quite some time, and boys were hardly top of her list when it came to her mother's ideals for her, so she takes a moment to think. "Are you already friends?"

"Yeah," Henry tells her. "She's my best friend. I think she likes me too, but she's never gonna make the first move. She's traditional like that."

Regina chuckles at that; the girl's only sixteen. "You're incredibly blessed to have a friend like that," she tells her son. "Relax and let things happen naturally. Always respect what she says." Henry nods with that and Regina is sure he'll do just that. "And you know, if she does end up being your girlfriend…"

"You'll be the first to know."

After nudging him playfully, Regina stands and pulls him into a tight hug, something she feels she's not done in far too long. "I love you, Henry."

"And I love you, Mom. Relax, okay? Everything's fine. Better than fine."

Regina nods. "So why do you have these?" She holds the box up.

He shrugs. "I just thought it would be good to carry them around, should I ever need them."

"I should be glad you're being responsible, but please, please talk to your Dad or me first, alright?"

"Okay." Regina puts the box on the desk, sure that her son will make good decisions.

Regina returns to Robin some time later, who's sitting on the bed preparing to read his book. She sits at her mirror with a gentle hey and starts to prepare herself for bed.

"Everything okay?" He asks and he goes over to her, placing his hands on her hips from behind her, kissing her cheek.

"Never better. We had a long talk." He takes in her scent and he swears his heart skips a beat.

"What about?" He asks and Regina tells him about Violet. Robin recalls the young girl who listened intently to Henry's stories and very much enjoyed his company.

"She's a nice girl." He replies as Regina twists her head and gives him a closed-mouth half-smile. "They'd be a great fit."

"I agree. I think that's the deepest conversation we've had in a long time." Regina twists in the chair and Robin kneels in front of her, grasping her hand. "He really is growing up."

"He is and the best thing we can do is be there for him. Did he say why he had them anyway?"

Robin kisses her knuckles and Regina nods. "Just in case."

Robin hasn't been that relieved in a long time. "Thank God." He looks at Regina with a grin. "Just wait 'til it's Roland's turn."


End file.
